Peter the Great: His Life and World

This superbly told story brings to life one of the most remarkable rulers––and men––in all of history and conveys the drama of his life and world. The Russia of Peter's birth was very different from the Russia his energy, genius, and ruthlessness shaped. Crowned co-Tsar as a child of ten, after witnessing bloody uprisings in the streets of Moscow, he would grow up propelled by an unquenchable curiosity, everywhere looking, asking, tinkering, and learning, fired by Western ideas.

The Romanovs: The Final Chapter

In July 1991, nine skeletons were exhumed from a shallow mass grave near Ekaterinburg, Siberia, a few miles from the infamous cellar room where the last tsar and his family had been murdered 73 years before. But were these the bones of the Romanovs? And if these were their remains, where were the bones of the two younger Romanovs supposedly murdered with the rest of the family? Was Anna Anderson, celebrated for more than 60 years in newspapers, books, and film, really Grand Duchess Anastasia?

Isabella: The Warrior Queen

Whether saintly or satanic, no female leader has done more to shape our modern world, in which millions of people in two hemispheres speak Spanish and practice Catholicism. Yet history has all but forgotten Isabella's influence, due to hundreds of years of misreporting that often attributed her accomplishments to Ferdinand, the bold and philandering husband she adored.

The Romanovs: 1613-1918

This is the intimate story of 20 tsars and tsarinas, some touched by genius, some by madness, but all inspired by holy autocracy and imperial ambition. Simon Sebag Montefiore's gripping chronicle reveals their secret world of unlimited power and ruthless empire building, overshadowed by palace conspiracy, family rivalries, sexual decadence, and wild extravagance, with a global cast of adventurers, courtesans, revolutionaries, and poets, from Ivan the Terrible to Tolstoy and Pushkin.

Marie Antoinette: The Journey

France's iconic queen, Marie Antoinette, wrongly accused of uttering the infamous "Let them eat cake", was alternately revered and reviled during her lifetime. For centuries since, she has been the object of debate, speculation, and the fascination so often accorded illustrious figures in history. Married in mere girlhood, this essentially lighthearted child was thrust onto the royal stage and commanded by circumstance to play a significant role in European history.

Rasputin: Faith, Power, and the Twilight of the Romanovs

Rasputin separates fact from fiction to reveal the real life of one of history's most alluring figures. Drawing on a wealth of forgotten documents from archives in seven countries, Smith presents Rasputin in all his complexity - man of God, voice of peace, loyal subject, adulterer, drunkard. Rasputin is not just a definitive biography of an extraordinary and legendary man, but a fascinating portrait of the twilight of imperial Russia as it lurched toward catastrophe.

Victoria: A Life

The longest reigning British monarch and female sovereign in history, Queen Victoria was a figure of profound paradox who has mystified historians for over a century. Now in this magisterial biography, A.N. Wilson rebukes the conventional wisdom about her life - that she was merely a "funny little woman in a bonnet" who did next to nothing - to show she was in fact intensely involved in state affairs despite a public façade of inaction.

Queen Anne: The Politics of Passion

Queen Anne ascended the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland in 1702. By the end of her comparatively short 12-year reign, Britain had emerged as a great power. But while the queen's military was performing dazzling exploits on the continent, her own attention rested on a more intimate conflict: the female friendship on which her happiness had for decades depended and which became, for her, a source of utter torment.

John Quincy Adams: Militant Spirit

John Quincy Adams was the last of his kind - a Puritan from the age of the Founders who despised party and compromise yet dedicated himself to politics and government. The son of John Adams, he was a brilliant ambassador and secretary of state, a frustrated president at a historic turning point in American politics, and a dedicated congressman who literally died in office - at the age of 80, in the House of Representatives, in the midst of an impassioned political debate.

The Rival Queens: Catherine de' Medici, Her Daughter Marguerite de Valois, and the Betrayal That Ignited a Kingdom

Catherine de' Medici was a ruthless pragmatist and powerbroker who dominated the throne for 30 years. Her youngest daughter, Marguerite, the glamorous "Queen Margot," was a passionate free spirit, the only adversary whom her mother could neither intimidate nor control.

Cleopatra: A Life

Her palace shimmered with onyx, garnets, and gold, but was richer still in political and sexual intrigue. Above all else, Cleopatra was a shrewd strategist and an ingenious negotiator. Though her life spanned fewer than 40 years, it reshaped the contours of the ancient world. Cleopatra appears to have had sex with only two men. They happen, however, to have been Julius Caesar and Mark Antony.

Castles of Steel

In a work of extraordinary narrative power, filled with brilliant personalities and vivid scenes of dramatic action, Robert K. Massie, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Peter the Great, Nicholas and Alexandra, and Dreadnought, elevates to its proper historical importance the role of sea power in the winning of the Great War.

The Private Lives of the Tudors: Uncovering the Secrets of Britain's Greatest Dynasty

The Tudor monarchs were constantly surrounded by an army of attendants, courtiers and ministers. Even in their most private moments, they were accompanied by a servant specifically appointed for the task. A groom of the stool would stand patiently by as Henry VIII performed his daily purges, and when Elizabeth I retired for the evening, one of her female servants would sleep at the end of her bed. These attendants knew the truth behind the glamorous exterior.

Napoleon: A Life

Andrew Roberts' Napoleon is the first one-volume biography to take advantage of the recent publication of Napoleon's thirty-three thousand letters, which radically transform our understanding of his character and motivation. At last we see him as he was: protean multitasker, decisive, surprisingly willing to forgive his enemies and his errant wife Josephine.

The Sisters of Versailles: Mistresses of Versailles Series # 1

Set against the lavish backdrop of the French Court in the early years of the 18th century, The Sisters of Versailles is the extraordinary tale of the five Nesle sisters - Louise, Pauline, Diane, Hortense, and Marie-Anne - four of whom became mistresses to King Louis XV. Their scandalous story is stranger than fiction but true in every shocking, amusing, and heartbreaking detail.Court intriguers are beginning to sense that young King Louis XV, after seven years of marriage, is tiring of his Polish wife.

The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia

Here is the riveting story of the Russian Revolution as it unfolded. When Russia’s last tsar, Nicholas II, inherited the throne in 1894, he was unprepared to do so. With their four daughters (including Anastasia) and only son, a hemophiliac, Nicholas and his reclusive wife, Alexandra, buried their heads in the sand, living a life of opulence as World War I raged outside their door and political unrest grew.

The Life of Elizabeth I

The New York Times best-selling author of The Six Wives of Henry VIII and The War of the Roses, historian Alison Weir crafts fascinating portraits of England’s infamous House of Tudor line. Here Weir focuses on Elizabeth I, also known as the Virgin Queen, who ascended to the throne at age 25 and never married, yet ruled for 44 years and steered England into its Golden Age.

The English and Their History

Robert Tombs' momentous The English and Their History is both a startlingly fresh and a uniquely inclusive account of the people who have a claim to be the oldest nation in the world. The English first came into existence as an idea, before they had a common ruler and before the country they lived in even had a name. They have lasted as a recognizable entity ever since, and their defining national institutions can be traced back to the earliest years of their history.

Secret Lives of the Tsars: Three Centuries of Autocracy, Debauchery, Betrayal, Murder, and Madness from Romanov Russia

Scandal! Intrigue! Cossacks! Here the world's most engaging royal historian chronicles the world's most fascinating imperial dynasty: the Romanovs, whose 300-year reign was remarkable for its shocking violence, spectacular excess, and unimaginable venality. In this incredibly entertaining history, Michael Farquhar collects the best, most captivating true tales of Romanov iniquity. Secret Lives of the Tsars captures all the splendor and infamy that was Imperial Russia.

We Two: Victoria and Albert: Rulers, Partners, Rivals

It was the most influential marriage of the 19th century and one of history's most enduring love stories. Traditional biographies tell us that Queen Victoria inherited the throne as a naive teenager, when the British Empire was at the height of its power, and seemed doomed to find failure as a monarch and misery as a woman until she married her German cousin Albert and accepted him as her lord and master.

Great Catherine: The Life of Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia

Prize-winning historian and biographer, Carolly Erickson has created an eminently readable biography that recognizes the humanity of Great Catherine—Empress of Russia—with her majesty and immense capability. Dispelling some of the myths surrounding her voracious sexual appetite, the biographer portrays Catherine as a lonely woman far ahead of her time—achieving greatness in an era when women were executed on a husband’s whim.

George, Nicholas and Wilhelm: Three Royal Cousins and the Road to World War I

In the years before the First World War, the great European powers were ruled by three first cousins: King George V of Britain, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, and Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. Together, they presided over the last years of dynastic Europe and the outbreak of the most destructive war the world had ever seen, a war that set 20th-century Europe on course to be the most violent continent in the history of the world.

Marlborough: His Life and Times

John Churchill, the Duke of Marlborough (1644-1722), was one of the greatest military commanders and statesmen in the history of England. Victorious in the Battles of Blenheim (1704) and Ramillies (1706) and countless other campaigns, Marlborough, whose political intrigues were almost as legendary as his military skill, never fought a battle he didn't win. Marlborough also bequeathed the world another great British military strategist and diplomat, his descendant, Winston S. Churchill.

The Medici: Power, Money, and Ambition in the Italian Renaissance

Against the background of an age that saw the rebirth of ancient and classical learning, Paul Strathern explores the intensely dramatic rise and fall of the Medici family in Florence as well as the Italian Renaissance, which they did so much to sponsor and encourage. Interwoven into the narrative are the lives of many of the great Renaissance artists with whom the Medici had dealings, including Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Donatello as well as scientists like Galileo and Pico della Mirandola.

Publisher's Summary

The Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Peter the Great, Nicholas and Alexandra, and The Romanovs returns with another masterpiece of narrative biography, the extraordinary story of an obscure young German princess who traveled to Russia at fourteen and rose to become one of the most remarkable, powerful, and captivating women in history.

Born into a minor noble family, Catherine transformed herself into Empress of Russia by sheer determination. Possessing a brilliant mind and an insatiable curiosity as a young woman, she devoured the works of Enlightenment philosophers and, when she reached the throne, attempted to use their principles to guide her rule of the vast and backward Russian empire. She knew or corresponded with the preeminent historical figures of her time: Voltaire, Diderot, Frederick the Great, Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, Marie Antoinette, and, surprisingly, the American naval hero, John Paul Jones.

Reaching the throne fired by Enlightenment philosophy and determined to become the embodiment of the “benevolent despot” idealized by Montesquieu, she found herself always contending with the deeply ingrained realities of Russian life, including serfdom. She persevered, and for thirty-four years the government, foreign policy, cultural development, and welfare of the Russian people were in her hands. She dealt with domestic rebellion, foreign wars, and the tidal wave of political change and violence churned up by the French Revolution that swept across Europe. Her reputation depended entirely on the perspective of the speaker. She was praised by Voltaire as the equal of the greatest of classical philosophers; she was condemned by her enemies, mostly foreign, as “the Messalina of the north.”

Robert Massie did an excellent job telling this incredible story of Catherine the Great. The narration was equally excellent. I should make a note that I was a little concerned about buying this book in audible form. I find that stories about royal families and their subjects can get a bit confusing when it comes to lineage, who did what…etc so I typically buy hardcopy books so I can refresh my memory by looking at previous chapters. I clearly didn't need to worry about that with this audible version. The story was well organized and the author takes the time to refresh the readers’ memory from time to time. I was disappointed to reach the end. Now I am going to purchase Peter the Great from the same author. I can't wait!

If you could sum up Catherine the Great in three words, what would they be?

Absorbing, fascinating and unlikely

Who was your favorite character and why?

In any telling of the life of Catherine the Great, Catherine must be the central character. Nobody but Catherine herself could have invented her.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

It is clear that the narrator is simply reading words (which he does quite well) but has no deeper connection to the subject. Constant and consistent mispronunciation of Russian German and French words and names (and not just the difficult ones) are distracting and make one think he did no preparation. This may seem like a trivial point, but a good reading is one where one feels like the narrator knows what he/she is talking about and that is not the case here.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

There are genuinely amusing, genuinely moving and genuinely horrifying moments.

Any additional comments?

This is a well paced and lively telling of a great story. It does not dig very deep into the history of the period, the mind of the protagonist or the culture of the period. But presents the information that it does provide in a manner that is clear and understandable for anyone with no background on the subject and that is no small accomplishment

It's hard to believe this woman accomplished so much in her life without Internet, computers, or modern transportation. This is an excellent book, and I loved the fact that so much of it was obtained from Catherine's own writings. Excellent book!

What did you like best about Catherine the Great? What did you like least?

This book is not meant for history lovers. There are snippets of great historical events but most of it is just court drama and gossips from Catherine time. It's not a terrible book but it could have been so much more.

I had an opportunity to visit St. Petersburg, Catherine’s Palace in Pushkin, and the Hermitage this summer. During the trip we heard much about Catherine the Great, including this book recommendation. It did not disappoint. Massie does an excellent job of making 18th Century European history come alive. It is an improbable story: a princess from a small German principality and minor noble family emerges as the Czarina of Russia after the abdication and death of her husband, Peter III. Not only Czarina, but a most hard-working, capable, patriotic, and winsome head of Russia, known for her enlightened views and very able administrative and leadership qualities. For that reason she became known after her death as Catherine "the Great."

The book sets forth Catherine’s story in very personal terms, depicting her ambitions, hopes, loves, sufferings, frustrations, fears, and triumphs. As a story it makes the history and events of the time much more memorable and real, particularly as compared to the chronologies in which history is more typically presented. I found the book very enriching and greatly expanded my understanding of the era and the history of Russia.

Any person that is frightened of history books should listen to this. You will be fascinated by this woman and the story is easy to listen to. Not like a Dostoyevsky novel at all so don't worry about being confused by the number and sound of names.

What did you like best about Catherine the Great? What did you like least?

This is an amazing story but I couldn't bring myself to finish it. The narrator had a very heavy American accent, who failed to bring me into the world of this Russan Queen. Deakins reading was boring, and inappropriate for this wonderful tale. Totally spoilt my experience.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Mark Deakins?

A female voice as it's about a female Queen. Joanne Lumley would have been perfect.

Not certain I would listen to again - maybe certain chapters to review, but would read another book on her. Catherine is fascinating. I don't agree with the monarchy or aristocracy at all - it is just that a person, especially a woman in that day and age, can climb to such heights.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Catherine of course! The strength of her, just surviving the court intrique and her husband's wrath was an acheivement. She came to a foreign country as a young girl, not only gains power and changes the course of Russia, and wins their hearts. She is such a unique person in the historical annals - especially as a female in a patriarchal country and time. It was not her inheritance, it was not her birth country, yet she ruled for over 30 years. She was continued the modernation of Russia and was well read and versed in enlightment - although she did not practice as democratic ideas if allowed to flourish and take hold would be a threat to monarchies. She deserves as much study as so many other historical figures.

Having been fortunate enough to have visited the Hermitage, one is dumbfounded by the magnitude of the collections. If this was all she accomplished, it would be phenomenal legacy.

It was interesting to learn she had other children beside Paul.

Which scene was your favorite?

Was very interested in the years with her awful husband.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Catherine gave birth to Paul, and how miserably she was treated, the shear discomfort, pain and misery she must have been in.

Any additional comments?

It was Massie's Peter the Great that gave me the desire to travel to St. Petersburg, it was one of the greatest trips in my life. Before that trip, I read a little about Catherine yet they did not complete her story. Now I want to go back!

I'm a history geek - and proud of it. I like biographies - and this one is among the best I've ever heard. Narration is great, and the book so well written it's hard to put my earplugs away. When I give it four stars instead of five it's due to the fact that there are an overwhelming amount of Russian names - pretty damn hard to keep track at times - especially in the part that describes Catherines coup. Other than that a great read - or ...hear ;D

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Jim

London

5/29/13

Overall

Performance

Story

"What a woman!"

Her diaries do bring the first half to life but I didn't really feel like it lagged in the second half as other reviewers have suggested. It's a great story; she's likeable and impressive enough that you root for her throughout; the cast of characters is astonishingly compelling and once her own version of events peters out as a source for the author he draws on plenty of other sources to document a landscape of egomanical European princelings; hyperventilating Russian nobles; a sort of revolving door of lovers; a pantomime villain mother and a husband straight out of Blackadder.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

James

Boston, United Kingdom

7/20/12

Overall

"A mostly really interesting read"

I did not know much about Catherine beyond her penchant for art and french culture. However this book is a really interesting look into her life and development as one of the most powerful monarchs in history. I found the book to be a little uneven and this is the reason I didn't give it five stars. The first half is superb given to the fact that she kept a wonderful diary for the first half of her life which allows Massie to delve deeply into her motivations and personal experience. The second half, when she abruptly stopped recording her personal thoughts, makes the later half of her life more of a typical history. Still, it's a wonderful book. Additionally, the narrator is quite good and makes this long book quite enjoyable to listen to.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Rosie

London, United Kingdom

12/3/13

Overall

Performance

Story

"Girlpower"

Would you listen to Catherine the Great again? Why?

Engrossing biography of an extraordinary female icon. Maligned for centuries but brave foreward thinking woman.Who knew she tried out the smallpox vaccination before it was widely used?

What does Mark Deakins bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

It is quite a dense book so it was more digestable perhaps than reading it.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Empowering.

Any additional comments?

Fills one with wonder that she achieved so much yet history has marked her down as a sex mad slut. Good to see her in the proper light.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Ms J Worrall

7/20/16

Overall

Performance

Story

"Fascinating and detailed history of a remarkable woman living in remarkable times"

A window not only into Russian and European history, but the story of a remarkable woman, her life and loves, as she grows from innocent bride into the foremost figure of her times, negotiating the corridors of power and the intricacies of personal relationships, revealing a fully rounded character examined and set amidst a well researched cast of players whose intricate dance of hopes, loves, aspirations, disappointments, frustration and fears make each character fully rounded and engaging. A brilliant and easily accessible biography, of a woman and her times, well researched and engagingly written. The narration was also excellent, in as much it didn't distract from the story... The only times I 'noticed' the narrator was when he used an English accent for the ambassador, although a good accent, I couldn't help 'listening' to his rendition instead of the content!

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

mirl

3/8/16

Overall

Performance

Story

"Great historical account"

Loved it. I'm a history nerd so while other people listen to thrillers and romance...I listen to history books. This book has awoken an interest in Russian history. Story easy to follow and you get a real sense of the woman Catherine. Narration also good, dramatic where it needed to be.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Amazon Customer

1/24/16

Overall

Performance

Story

"Sometimes reads like a glossy magazine"

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I might recommend the book, but in paper form. The narrator reads well but insists on using a very annoying, breathy female voice for Catherine and other female characters and uses these voices a lot. The title is "A Portrait of a Woman" and does dwell a lot on her life as a woman, her lovers in particular, which at times makes it read like an article from 'Hello'. The 'history' chapters were well written and narrated. I just wish there had been more of them.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Catherine the Great?

Her seizure of power as the Empress.

Would you be willing to try another one of Mark Deakins’s performances?

Possibly not. Only if assured there were no female impersonations, because otherwise he reads very well. Some the foreign accents were a bit hammy as well.

Did Catherine the Great inspire you to do anything?

Find out more about Peter the Great and The Russian Revolution.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Sahin1112

2/27/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Very interesting"

Great book Great narration This book is very interesting but you have to pay attention because of all the Russian names. I really enjoyed it and will listen again. I feel I now know a lot more about Catherine the Great and more about Russian history.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Circe'sAttic

1/25/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"A game of two halves"

I found the second half of the book, after Catherine's personal diaries cease, less engaging than the first when her voice makes the story more alive. I also felt the second half needed editing, the author goes off an tangents as if to make up for this dryness, for example about the history, effectiveness and ethics of the guillotine, which though interesting has very little to do with Catherine and, in these days of Wikipedia can be easily accessed by anyone who cares to know more on the subject.

0 of 1 people found this review helpful

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